New President For Ave Maria University [Pics & Video]

James Towey is the new president of Ave Maria University, taking the place of President Nicholas Healy starting July 1st. Towey is also assuming the role of CEO, in the place of Mr. Monaghan, who will continue as just the Chancellor.February 8th the Board of Trustees held their regularly scheduled meeting, and it was at this meeting that it was unanimously decided that James Towey would be the next Ave Maria University president. Watch video for entire press conference.

Today at February 10th at 10:30am Ave Maria University held a press conference in front of the Bob Thomas Student Union Building to announce the new president. Michael Timmis, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Mr. Monaghan present Mr. James Towey as the new president. President Nicholas Healy sent an email of behalf of Michael Timmis inviting all the students, staff and faculty at AMU to the press conference yesterday.

“It is a new day at Ave Maria and I am excited about its future,” Towey said.  “The start up phase is over, a strong foundation is now in place, and now we must go about the difficult work of building the best Catholic liberal arts university in America.  We will attract more of the best students available, continue to recruit and retain the very finest professors, and secure the financial resources necessary to fulfill the University’s potential.    Tom Monaghan has devoted all of his wealth and energy to get us to this point and now it is time for the rest of us to ask what we can do to help Ave Maria transition to self-sufficiency and new excellence.”

James Towey

James Towey brings a wealth of experience to Ave Maria University. He served as Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and as Assistant to President George W. Bush from 2002 to May 2006. He has also served as the 16th president of Saint Vincent College, a small Catholic university in Latrobe, Pennsylvania from 2006 until stepping down on June 30, 2010. Towey graduated in 1978 from Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree with high honors, and later earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Florida State University College of Law in 1981.

Towey At Saint Vincent College

During his years at Saint Vincent College his major accomplishments include record levels of applications, record levels of enrollment and record levels of new pledge commitments. Also during his time at Saint Vincent College he had three consecutive budget surpluses, and the initiation of the most expensive construction and renovation project in the college’s history. He has emphasized recruiting minority and international students. Towey also created a new Officer of Service Learning to provide opportunities for hundreds of students to serve those in need. Moreover, Towey’s tenure at Saint Vincent College they made the top ten list of conservative colleges in America for the first time.

Towey And President Bush

At the White House, Towey served as a member of President George W. Bush’s senior staff and reported directly to him on church-state and religious liberty issues, policies promoting tax incentives for enhanced charitable giving, and the implementation of individual choice in drug treatment, mentoring, housing and other federal programs. Towey served four years as Assistant to the President of the United States and director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He was recognized by President George W. Bush for his work to improve the lives of those in need. The Cuban Association of the Order of Malta has awarded Towey the 2009 Tuitio Fidei Award because of his work with the poor and ill, consistent with his conscience and the dictates of his faith in the face of legal and public challenges.

Towey and Mother Teresa

Towey represented the late Mother Teresa on legal matters in the United States and Canada for 12 years (from 1985 until her death) and traveled with her on numerous occasions. He served nearly two years as a full-time volunteer in Mexico in one of Mother Teresa’s missions and in her Washington, D.C. home for people suffering from AIDS. For the past three years he has returned to Calcutta with Saint Vincent College students to work in her missions.

Towey grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He and his wife, Mary Towey, have five children: James Marion, Joseph Marius, Maximilian Marian, John Mariano and Marie Therese.

Ave Maria University Press Release